tale

noun

ˈtāl 

1

a

: a usually imaginative narrative of an event : story

b

: an intentionally untrue report : falsehood

… always preferred the tale to the truth …

—Sir Winston Churchill

2

a

: a series of events or facts told or presented : account

b(1)

: a report of a private or confidential matter

dead men tell no tales

(2)

: a libelous report or piece of gossip

3

a

: count, tally

b

: total

4

obsolete : discourse, talk

Synonyms of tale

• story
• whisper

Examples of tale in a Sentence

The movie is a stirring tale of courage.

We listened to his familiar tale of woe as he talked again about the failure of his marriage.

He told us thrilling tales about his adventures as a pilot in the war.

Are you telling tales again? Or is that the truth?

Recent Examples on the Web

The final score doesn't tell the tale of this game. — Nbc News, NBC news, 28 June 2026

At age 11, my favorite Broadway show was Follies – a classic preteen tale about the decay of female beauty and fading fame within an unscrupulous industry of vaudeville and burlesque. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 27 June 2026

Chef tells the tale of his Indian homeland flavors in inventive modern expressions of traditional taste profiles. — Carinne Geil Botta, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026

Director David Anspaugh, whose resume includes small-town basketball tale Hoosiers and against-all-odds college football biopic Rudy, sticks rigidly to his sporting underdog formula, only skimming the surface of the David-versus-Goliath encounter. — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English talu; akin to Old Norse tala talk

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Phrases Containing tale

• fairy tale
• old wives' tale
• spin a tale
• tale of woe
• tale-teller
• tall tale/story
• thereby hangs a tale

Rhymes for tale

• ail
• ale
• bail
• baile
• dail
• fail
• flail
• frail
• gael
• gail
• grail
• hail

Kids Definition

tale

noun

ˈtā(ə)l 

1

: something told

a tale of woe

2

: a story about an imaginary event

a fairy tale

3

: a false story : lie

4

: a piece of harmful gossip

spread tales about us